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PSU, Faculty Union Reach Tentative Agreement To Avert A Strike

The faculty union and administrators at Portland State University announced Sunday that they have reached a tentative contract agreement.

Portland State University's symbol on campus.

Katelyn Black / OPB

The deal, reached after marathon weekend negotiations, averts a possible strike, scheduled for April 16.

The agreement ends a year of contract negotiations between administrators and Portland State’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which represents 1,200 faculty members. The agreement must be ratified by AAUP faculty later this month.

Statements from both sides confirm that the contract will create a salary floor of $40,000 per year, and that professors will get a one-time salary bump of 1.5 percent.

The faculty union emphasizes that the contract will help more fixed-term professors become eligible for multi-year contracts – a faculty priority.

Union leaders says the contract also maintains the faculty’s role in crafting policy.

Administrators emphasized that professors will have greater job security – and will get 2.5 percent salary increases that PSU president Wim Wiewel considers “fiscally responsible.”

“We are pleased to announce that we have come to a fair agreement with the AAUP that offers salary increases for faculty for each of the next two years,” Wiewel said.

The faculty union president, Mary King, said the contract was “an excellent step towards refocusing PSU on students and academics.”

Union leaders will next share the final contract language with members, but they didn’t immediately publicize their timeline to ratify the deal.